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Shop Talk: T Minus One Week!

Do you know how to slow down time? If so, please share with us ASAP!

Y’all, every day when 6 p.m. rolls around and I swear it’s only noon. Time is just flying as we’re working around the clock — some days literally — to pull this retail store and studio together by June 2nd.

Yes, the saying is true, time flies when you’re having fun. But it’s also true when you’re working like busy bees with hardly a minute to pause for a quick bite or potty break because you’re tagging product, hanging art, making tags, recording product descriptions, shooting product, planning party details, building fences, building fixtures, bracketing rods to walls…. The list goes on and on and on!

I’ve come to grips with the fact the space won’t be perfect for launch. Some things won’t be hung, some product won’t be tagged and on the floor (ours, not our vendors), some processes and procedures will be a tad rusty with lack of time to iron out exactly. But that’s ok. That’s life.

But, for the most part, the place should be pulled together really nicely to show y’all grand opening weekend (June 2nd and 3rd, in case you haven’t heard!).

This week has been one of the most exciting ever at Flea Style! On Monday our sales associates started and our team doubled in bodies overnight! With the help of Cari, Hillary and Taylor (you’ll meet them here on the blog soon!) and our full-time manager Jessica, we’ve been able to increase production big time and it’s been so amazing to watch the impact of their help immediately! As of today, we have nine employees and three summer interns — and we’re loving it!

Vendors’ product has pretty much rolled in at this point and now we’re merchandising it all over the floor. I always knew our vendors’ pieces were amazing, but we are completely blown away by the mix, beauty, quality and assortment in our hands. From vintage Japanese kimonos and peacock chairs to potted succulents, handmade jewelry and collected brass accents, we have a little bit of everything for the gal that loves all things handmade, vintage and one-of-a-kind.

I’ve been having an absolute ball decorating the store. Not only are we merchandising every square inch with product, but it was really important to me to layer in lifestyle moments from items I’ve collected over time (some for sale, some not) to make the store feel approachable, cozy and aspirational for shoppers to create the look in their own homes. Think old design books, photos I’ve taken on my travels and even linens I’ve collected over time.

I am a total maximalist — as in layering meaningful things, not buying things just to buy them — and so the store will be jam-packed with thoughtful selections and ways to inspire shoppers to layer interiors and fashion in their own life. There is nothing I loathe more when shopping than a stark, minimalist, low product store. They make me feel uncomfortable and bored in two shakes. I hope our store is a sensory overload that makes you want to wander and shop for the entire day because you don’t know what’s around the corner….

Although there’s been a ton of physical work on the retail floor, there has also been oodles of online and digital stuff to complete too. Grace and Alyssa have been re-working our website and online shop while DeAnna has been living on Shopify to create product listings, approve vendor’s items and generate barcodes. Alyssa and I have also been shaping up season three of our podcast and are gearing up to tape the first episode next week. Grace has also been slaying the graphics game from creating promotional material to gift cards and fall show goodness.

Today we have some media interviews and our big shopfleastyle.com photo shoot in the studio. I’m also hammering out our employee rules and procedures for sales staff and details from gift wrap protocol to how we handle issues in office from a clogged toilet to theft (fingers crossed we never have to deal with these problems). I’m literally shaping up this store and next chapter of Flea Style every second of the day with my amazing team. It’s extremely tiring, overwhelming and taxing, but it’s also the most awesome experience ever. The best stuff in life is always that way, right?

We hope to see you next month when we open our doors! It’s going to be a ball and we’d love to celebrate with you!

Want to keep up with all of our new store and studio updates? Follow our “Shop Talk” series on the blog here or hashtag #fsshoptalk on Instagram!